Use the Summary area below to collaborate with your group to create your summary of the connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective, and social dominance theory.
Press Save on the Editor bar.
Note:You don't need to sign your work or indicate which sections you contributed; your facilitator can see your contributions in the history of the page. Your group summary should demonstrate your collaboration rather than being a collection of unconnected individual ideas. When your group decides that the summary is finished, have one group member remove "(Draft)" below so your facilitator will know that it is ready for review.
Summary (at the bottom)
Enter summary here...
I agreed with all of the white privileges that were discussed. These are the five that I could relate to the most. Number 2: If I move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and which I want to live. Whites are allowed to live anywhere we like. My wife and I have looked at houses in an affluent area. We could not afford those homes, yet we were welcomed and given the time and freedom to wander around the homes. Number 4: I can shop alone, pretty well assured I will not be followed or harassed. While in college I worked part-time in retail. White people came and went with little notice. African Americans would often catch the eye of many of the employees. One female manager really left an impression. Anytime an African American came in, we were instructed by her to follow them and keep a visual contact with them at all time. She never made this type of effort with white customers. Number 10: Skin color won't work against the appearance of my financial reliability. I recall looking at engagement rings that were out of my price range. Even though I could not afford them, sales people let me not only look at the merchandise, but hold it as well. They always assumed I had the credit to buy the ring. Number 15: I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group. I am treated as an individual, not a group. I am sorry to say that I have done this to some of my students. When issues regarding race come up and I have a minority student, I often ask them their opinion, but I think it comes off as if they are the spokesman for the entire race. Number 19: if a traffic cop pulls me over or the IRS audits my tax returns, I can be sure I'm not singled out because of my race. I can drive anywhere I want. I have only been pulled over a few times in my life and every time I was in fact speeding. I never have to worry about DWB, driving while black.
I believe that most of these privileges are the result of Social Dominance Theory. The list is a result of how whites maintain power in society. Every one of them provides a function in which to impose the will of whites over minorities. If these were occasional abuses, they could be over looked. However, they are not occasional. They are a systematic way to keep minorities in line. As whites we do not look at color, unless we are looking at someone who isn't white. Generally, we do not make stereotypical assumptions about other whites, but we make those assumptions about minorities. This creates racism. People of color must deal with this everyday and in almost every situation. Most people claim to be colorblind, but are they? It is easy to be colorblind in a professional setting, in a hospital, at school. It is more difficult to be colorblind at 2 o'clock in the morning and a white person sees a man of color walking towards them. Does that white person cross the street or clutch their purse a little tighter? At that moment, are you still colorblind? The more I study this, the more racism I see. I am truly beginning to see racism, not as an individual act of personal prejudice, but rather of an institutional reality in American society.
4-A-3
I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to “ the person in charge,” I will be facing a person of my race.
I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help my race will not work against me.
I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
All of these five that I have chosen stand out to me, because they are things I take for granted as being part of the dominant culture. I have never had these thoughts before when I have done any of these things. It is part of my path to become more aware of the world around me, and the various ways my culture perpetuates racism. The ignorance I had about the majority of this list is a testament to how invisible and pervasive my white culture has been in my life.
The ways in which these statements affect my life are in the self reflection they inspire. This reflection is not limited to my ignorance, but goes further to challenge my racism by understanding why these statements exist, and how I have seen these play out in my life. Understanding my inherent beliefs is important in not perpetuating these racial based situations.
I feel the connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective, and social dominance theory are a combination of cause and effect. I believe the colorblind perspective lends itself to ignorance of ones own whiteness, which feed into the justification of white privilege, and therefore is a component of social dominance theory in that it becomes an aggregated effect of individual discrimination that leads to institutionalized injustices.
4-A-3
Hey guys this is my part with a summary as well. I guess we have to put together a final summary for tomorrow and post it at the bottom as we each wrote one. Im open to whatever you guys like or want to do.
Here is the five privilges I can Identify with and struck at me the most:
1) If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area, which I can afford and which I would want to live.
2) I can be pretty sure that my neighbours in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me
3) Whether I use checks,credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of my financial reliability
4) I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
5) If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
I chose these five privileges because I think although Im not 100%white I can relate to them. For one and two I can choose to live anywhere I want in Morocco and my neighours wont have a problem. If I was black immigrant from Africa they will raise questions. Three as well relates to that. Number four I feel relates a lot to 'white' Americans as I feel they live in a 'bubble' world and they don't seem to think or care about people around them either in the States or out. Number five I can relate to me and 'white' Americans. I watch a lot of movies where cops pull over minorities just because of their suspicions. This also does not happen to me here, if I get pulled over I am sure it will not be because of my race but with minorities if cops have suspicions they will pull them over.
I've added summary. Let me know what you guys think
-Jason
In Peggy McIntosh's article it points out the daily challenges minority groups can go through while 'whites' don't see the unearned privileges they have. All these privileges should be an eye opener for 'whites' and they should really feel how it should feel for minority groups. Colorblindness and Social Dominance Theory go hand in hand in a sense that 'whites' have these ideas and beliefs that are embedded in them and the way they grew up that is very hard to change. The important thing to note is that these are all interelated and connected in the support of one another. The danger of its invisibility is the source of its wide use, and its ability to spread. Awareness is the first step in correcting such positions as colorblindness. Once we put the past behind and look forward we have to acknowledge that 'race' exists, and if we can look at the minority group and see what they are rather than saying 'color is blind-everybody is the same' we can change a lot.
Looks good to me! Dan
Hi Jason,Dan we have to write a final draft of the summary. Now how do we go about doing it shall one of us volunteer to read all three and do a final one?
Instructions:
Note: You don't need to sign your work or indicate which sections you contributed; your facilitator can see your contributions in the history of the page. Your group summary should demonstrate your collaboration rather than being a collection of unconnected individual ideas. When your group decides that the summary is finished, have one group member remove "(Draft)" below so your facilitator will know that it is ready for review.
Summary (at the bottom)
Enter summary here...
I agreed with all of the white privileges that were discussed. These are the five that I could relate to the most. Number 2: If I move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and which I want to live. Whites are allowed to live anywhere we like. My wife and I have looked at houses in an affluent area. We could not afford those homes, yet we were welcomed and given the time and freedom to wander around the homes. Number 4: I can shop alone, pretty well assured I will not be followed or harassed. While in college I worked part-time in retail. White people came and went with little notice. African Americans would often catch the eye of many of the employees. One female manager really left an impression. Anytime an African American came in, we were instructed by her to follow them and keep a visual contact with them at all time. She never made this type of effort with white customers. Number 10: Skin color won't work against the appearance of my financial reliability. I recall looking at engagement rings that were out of my price range. Even though I could not afford them, sales people let me not only look at the merchandise, but hold it as well. They always assumed I had the credit to buy the ring. Number 15: I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group. I am treated as an individual, not a group. I am sorry to say that I have done this to some of my students. When issues regarding race come up and I have a minority student, I often ask them their opinion, but I think it comes off as if they are the spokesman for the entire race. Number 19: if a traffic cop pulls me over or the IRS audits my tax returns, I can be sure I'm not singled out because of my race. I can drive anywhere I want. I have only been pulled over a few times in my life and every time I was in fact speeding. I never have to worry about DWB, driving while black.
I believe that most of these privileges are the result of Social Dominance Theory. The list is a result of how whites maintain power in society. Every one of them provides a function in which to impose the will of whites over minorities. If these were occasional abuses, they could be over looked. However, they are not occasional. They are a systematic way to keep minorities in line. As whites we do not look at color, unless we are looking at someone who isn't white. Generally, we do not make stereotypical assumptions about other whites, but we make those assumptions about minorities. This creates racism. People of color must deal with this everyday and in almost every situation. Most people claim to be colorblind, but are they? It is easy to be colorblind in a professional setting, in a hospital, at school. It is more difficult to be colorblind at 2 o'clock in the morning and a white person sees a man of color walking towards them. Does that white person cross the street or clutch their purse a little tighter? At that moment, are you still colorblind? The more I study this, the more racism I see. I am truly beginning to see racism, not as an individual act of personal prejudice, but rather of an institutional reality in American society.
4-A-3
All of these five that I have chosen stand out to me, because they are things I take for granted as being part of the dominant culture. I have never had these thoughts before when I have done any of these things. It is part of my path to become more aware of the world around me, and the various ways my culture perpetuates racism. The ignorance I had about the majority of this list is a testament to how invisible and pervasive my white culture has been in my life.
The ways in which these statements affect my life are in the self reflection they inspire. This reflection is not limited to my ignorance, but goes further to challenge my racism by understanding why these statements exist, and how I have seen these play out in my life. Understanding my inherent beliefs is important in not perpetuating these racial based situations.
I feel the connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective, and social dominance theory are a combination of cause and effect. I believe the colorblind perspective lends itself to ignorance of ones own whiteness, which feed into the justification of white privilege, and therefore is a component of social dominance theory in that it becomes an aggregated effect of individual discrimination that leads to institutionalized injustices.
4-A-3
Hey guys this is my part with a summary as well. I guess we have to put together a final summary for tomorrow and post it at the bottom as we each wrote one. Im open to whatever you guys like or want to do.
Here is the five privilges I can Identify with and struck at me the most:
1) If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area, which I can afford and which I would want to live.
2) I can be pretty sure that my neighbours in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me
3) Whether I use checks,credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of my financial reliability
4) I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
5) If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
I chose these five privileges because I think although Im not 100%white I can relate to them. For one and two I can choose to live anywhere I want in Morocco and my neighours wont have a problem. If I was black immigrant from Africa they will raise questions. Three as well relates to that. Number four I feel relates a lot to 'white' Americans as I feel they live in a 'bubble' world and they don't seem to think or care about people around them either in the States or out. Number five I can relate to me and 'white' Americans. I watch a lot of movies where cops pull over minorities just because of their suspicions. This also does not happen to me here, if I get pulled over I am sure it will not be because of my race but with minorities if cops have suspicions they will pull them over.
I've added summary. Let me know what you guys think
-Jason
In Peggy McIntosh's article it points out the daily challenges minority groups can go through while 'whites' don't see the unearned privileges they have. All these privileges should be an eye opener for 'whites' and they should really feel how it should feel for minority groups. Colorblindness and Social Dominance Theory go hand in hand in a sense that 'whites' have these ideas and beliefs that are embedded in them and the way they grew up that is very hard to change. The important thing to note is that these are all interelated and connected in the support of one another. The danger of its invisibility is the source of its wide use, and its ability to spread. Awareness is the first step in correcting such positions as colorblindness. Once we put the past behind and look forward we have to acknowledge that 'race' exists, and if we can look at the minority group and see what they are rather than saying 'color is blind-everybody is the same' we can change a lot.
Looks good to me! Dan
Hi Jason,Dan we have to write a final draft of the summary. Now how do we go about doing it shall one of us volunteer to read all three and do a final one?